This is the next chapter in Baden Oulett's story but by no means is it his whole story. We have seen him go from an active NHL player to horrifically beaten and recovering from a serious spinal cord injury(in the last few books of the Arizona Vengeance series). We have seen him go from hopelessness to finding the will to recover and then fighting his way back to beat the odds, and now we get to see him figure out the next part of his life.

At this point, Baden has become much more self-adjusted. He is physically and mentally getting stronger every day but he still has goals. His ultimate goal was to get back on the ice but there’s still a question of whether it is attainable. So when a tragedy occurs and brings him a new opportunity for a coaching position he has a decision to make. So this begins the Pittsburgh Titans era. New job, new challenges, and something he didn’t expect.

Sophie was the initial victim in the incident that cost Baden almost everything. He saved her but she still suffers PTSD, fear, and anxiety from being attacked. She’s virtually homebound and really needs to find a way out of her cocoon. When Baden shows up at her door just to check in, it is a catalyst for her to begin to look ahead in her own life. 

I absolutely adore these two together. When she’s comfortable in a situation she is funny, caring, and her beauty just shines. And Baden is just so patient, supportive, accepting, empathetic, charming, and just such a swoony hero. They shared the common history and bond and understanding that no one else could. But they also quickly developed this rapport and companionship that they both so really needed. It was an unexpected bonus of his move to Pittsburgh and something else that just changed his outlook on life. And now that he’s done most of the work on himself, he can be a cheerleader for her to try to beat back her demons, have small successes, and try to take her own life back and work towards her own dreams. 

This is a sweet, sexy, inspirational, bond-forged-in-tragedy, friends-to-roommates-to-lovers story of survival, hope, healing, and love. These two went through hell, but they’re coming out on the other side of it and it’s so beautiful to see. I was so invested in them and finding joy in life again.

I enjoyed visiting with his old friends on the Vengeance and meeting the new guys on the Pittsburgh Titans. Her friend Frankie is also quite a character. I am really looking forward to more with this newly put together and somewhat troubled team. They are truly rebuilding a team from scratch after a tragedy and it seems there will definitely be growing pains and plenty of dynamic characters.